The Pythagorean theorem. The Archimedes' screw. Hubble's Law. Numerous ideas and inventions carry human names as a way to honor their discovers or inventors. Plants and animals can be anthropomorphized in this way too: Grévy's zebra or Hirst's panic grass, for example. Well, just as with libraries and university buildings and any number of other eponymous entities, sometimes we reconsider on whom we wish to bestow naming honors. And so plans are forming to change the common names in English of roughly 80 bird species … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Improper Names
Science Corner: Blind Dates?
Earlier this month, Simone Biles became the first person to land a Biles II (nee Yurchenko double pike) vault in international competition, securing the right to have it named for her. Based on the Chicago marathon results, we may not be too far from the first competitive marathon run in under two hours. (Eliud Kipchoge has already run the distance in that time, but in an event designed for that purpose where the other runners were providing pacing not competition.) Firsts are exciting, which makes them memorable. But … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Blind Dates?
Science Corner: Back to Math Class
It's back to school season, and at my house that's already meant a lot of math. Both of my kids are taking quantitative science courses along with math courses, so every few nights I'm getting to help with math-related homework of one sort or another. It's an interesting opportunity to see what I remember and don't remember from when I took those classes, and what comes easier with more experience and what doesn't. Fundamental principles seem to stick better than specific techniques. For example, I helped my son with a … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Back to Math Class
Science Corner: There’s Science in Those Hills
Probably the biggest (or at least buzziest) science news of the moment is the possibility of a room temperature superconductor. You may remember we went down this particular road a few years ago. At that time, superconductivity was achieved at not-quite-but-close-enough-to-room temperature but with radically impractical pressures. This time, the candidate material (LK-99) is a superconductor at warmer-than-room temperature and ambient pressure. The catch for the moment is some uncertainty about confirmation and … [Read more...] about Science Corner: There’s Science in Those Hills
Science Corner: It *IS* a question of where he grips it!
Something has been pulling the fake flowers off of our hummingbird feeder. Raccoons are the primary suspect. Hummingbirds don't seem strong enough, and don't need to tug at petals to feed. Also, the vandalism occurs overnight. Oh yeah, and there are the incriminating raccoon paw prints all around the feeder. Seemed pretty cut and dry. But then a headline about how "some hummingbirds are flower robbers" caught my eye. Maybe hummingbirds do engage in more than nectar sipping. … [Read more...] about Science Corner: It *IS* a question of where he grips it!